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The Geological Society offers grades of membership for every stage of your career, from student to retirement. Find out about the benefits of membership, and how we can help you achieve and maintain Chartered status.

Information about the Geological Society’s internationally acclaimed books and journals for authors, editors, librarians and readers. Order publications, find out about the Lyell Collection and read guidelines for preparing a paper or submitting a book proposal.

Information and resources for teachers and students from
primary education onwards; for those making careers choices
after A-levels including undergraduate and further degrees
at university; and for those seeking professional
geosciences training or exploring lifelong learning
opportunities.

News and updates for the press, policy makers and members of the public interested in how the geosciences
interact with society. Find updates about policy related meetings, consultation responses, position statements and
press releases.

Geoscientist is the Fellowship magazine of the Geological Society: with news about science, people, the Society, features, reviews, opinion, letters and forthcoming events. All this, and more, can be found sooner here, in our online version.

The Geological Society of London is the UK national society for geoscience, providing support to over 11,500 members in the UK and overseas. Founded in 1807, we are the oldest geological society in the world.

Climate change: evidence from the geological record

Climate change is a defining issue for our time. The geological record contains abundant evidence of the ways in which Earth’s climate has changed in the past. That evidence is highly relevant to understanding how it may change in the future.

The Geological Society has issued an addendum to its original Climate Change Statement published in 2010. In 2013, in light of further research, the working group was re-convened to consider whether the original statement was still fit for purpose, and if necessary to amend or add to it. The working group concluded that the original statement continues to be valid and does not need to be amended. Instead the working group produced an addendum setting out new research findings relevant to the questions raised in the original statement.

The full technical version of the addendum together with the non-technical summary, aimed at principally non-specialists and Fellows of the Society with a general interest, can be found here:

In 2010 The Geological Society prepared a position statement on climate change, focusing specifically on the geological evidence. A drafting group was convened, with the aim of producing a clear and concise summation, accessible to a general audience, of the scientific certainties and uncertainties; as well as including references to further sources of information. The Council of the Society issued this statement as part of the Society’s work “to promote all forms of education, awareness and understanding of the Earth and their practical applications for the benefit of the public globally”. The statement is intended for non-specialists and Fellows of the Society. It is based on analysis of geological evidence, and not on analysis of recent temperature or satellite data, or climate model projections. It contains references to support key statements, indicated by superscript numbers, and a reading list for those who wish to explore the subject further.

Learned Societies' Climate Communiqué - COP21

In the run up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 21 scheduled for December 2015, 24 of the UK's foremost academic institutions, including the Geological Society have published a joint Climate Communiqué calling on national governments to take immediate action if they want to avert the serious risks posed by climate change. The document states that to tackle climate change, governments, including that of the UK, must seize the opportunity at climate talks in Paris in December to negotiate an agreement based on the latest scientific evidence. Pointing to that scientific evidence, the organisations say that if we are to have a reasonable chance of limiting global warming in this century to 2°C relative to the pre-industrial period, we must transition to a zero-carbon world by early in the second half of the century.